Online poker shutdown might deal U.S. players out of millions of dollars

View full sizeThe FBI seal and a notice that the site has been seized that appears at FullTilt Poker.com.

People who play poker online discovered over the weekend that three of the leading sites are closed for business.

Federal authorities busted the three largest online poker websites in the United States on Friday with charges of bank fraud and illegal gambling against 11 people, accusing them of manipulating banks to process billions of dollars in illegal revenue.

Prosecutors in Manhattan said they've issued restraining orders against more than 75 bank accounts in 14 countries used by the poker companies, interrupting the flow of billions of dollars.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the defendants "concocted an elaborate criminal fraud scheme, alternately tricking some U.S. banks and effectively bribing others to assure the continued flow of billions in illegal gambling profits."

The indictment said the companies ran afoul of the law after the U.S. in October 2006 enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which makes it a crime for gambling businesses to knowingly accept most forms of payment in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling.

An estimated 10 million people play online poker, many of them with money in accounts with the poker sites. That money, amounting to millions, is in limbo.

PokerStars has posted a statement to its players through its computer software and on Twitter saying it has had to suspend real money play to customers based in the United States.

"Please be assured player balances are safe. There is no cause for concern," the company said. "For all customers outside the U.S. it is business as usual."